Corey and Edwin in L.A.

It's the irony of riding in Los Angeles: There are miles and miles of urban sprawl, and yet it can take from sunrise to sunset and a tank of gas just to hit a few decent spots. So the challenge went with two of the top, and very different, street riders in BMX - Corey Martinez, aka Mr. NORA Cup, and Edwin De La Rosa, the king of New York style. It's a bit of an "Odd Couple" episode in full effect, but the result is more than just a bunch of chuckles. It's sick spots, bar spins over banks and an urban playground waiting to be realized.

The Photo Shoot

Lesson one with a photoshoot is that nothing is predictable. From a delightful breakfast at Downtown L.A.'s swanky Standard Hotel in an all-yellow colored cafe sipping tea and talking about the day ahead, to what happened next, nothing was quite what the group thought. Spot number one were the White Banks in South Central L.A. Yeah, that South Central. The banks were ready made to ride and shockingly bust-free. Except for the park worker who was watering the concrete below the best bank with the longest run-up. If you think that makes no sense, then well, the riders agreed. Still, Corey Martinez managed to pull out a fakie tailwhip over the non-flooded bank after some major perseverance while Edwin faced his own challenge - fixing a broken chain that didn't want to stay in one piece. Visiting homies Vinnie Sammon (you may known him from such narrations as the "Red Bull Mean Streets II" DVD) and filmer Navazio continued to keep the laughs up while Corey did his thing.

The Trip

From there the group headed out on what felt to most like a million mile trek to a strip mall laden town along the blurred lines between L.A. and Orange Counties. Next to a mini golf course and under the freeway lied a wonderland of concrete that you could literally ride hassle-free until the sun goes down, and that's exactly what they did. With the company of a couple bridge "trolls" as the crew named them, Edwin and Corey went off. As they rolled up to the spot, the boys rode way out checking out all the potential lines while playing on the gigantic concrete banks. Then it was time for Edwin to light it up on a bank wallride to barspin out, and then he aired a huge gap further down the spot. Meanwhile Corey Martinez was doing ridiculous tricks just warming up and messing around with no camera even on. If a tree falls in a forest...T-Nez still kills it. As the sun set and traffic crept above, he busted some fufanus and a footjam nosepick against the spray painted banks of the concrete playground unnoticed by most of the world.

The crew didn't even make it out of the mini-golf parking lot before Corey spotted another crazy bank he wanted to try and hit up - with potted plants dotted throughout. Cars were moved, some passers by stopped and watched in awe and again Corey lit it up with a barspin air too quick for the camera. Edwin blasted the soundtrack for the moment from his car stereo, Akon's "Smack That." Odd couple, without a doubt.

Another drive to Long Beach resulted in nothing more than a Mediterranean dinner at a table overflowing with colorful beaded pillows. No one was quite sure what was funnier - Southern boy Corey Martinez trying to figure out what all the stuff on the menu really was, or street-smart Edwin De La Rosa eating spicy hummus like it was going out of style. With their bellies full and the early Winter darkness over the city, it was time for the riders to split up and get on to other things - Corey going to watch the new Volume video at Glenn PP's while Edwin and Vinnie went out looking for homies and prepped to ride in San Diego. If you've ever watched video parts and wondered if Edwin is really as funny as he is on camera, or if Corey is as ridiculous a rider as he is when the footage is all edited together, then the greater L.A. area now knows the answer. Or you can just look at the pictures and see for yourself.